Morgan Griffith voted to weaken protections in the health insurance market

On June 21, 2023, Morgan Griffith voted FOR H.R. 3799, legislation that would have expanded new ways for employers to offer health coverage outside the traditional job-based insurance system. The bill would have made it easier for some employers to give workers tax-free money to shop for coverage on their own, while also loosening other rules for certain employer-sponsored health plans.

The bill would have:

• Made “CHOICE Arrangements” permanent, allowing employers to reimburse workers tax-free for individual-market insurance and other qualified medical expenses instead of offering a traditional group plan.

• Expanded association health plans, which opponents said could let more plans avoid some Affordable Care Act coverage requirements and pull healthier people out of the broader insurance pool.

• Changed rules around self-funded plans and stop-loss coverage, another move critics said could make it easier for some employers to offer skimpier coverage structures.

Griffith’s vote means that:

• Workers could be pushed away from more stable employer health plans and into shopping for coverage on their own

• If healthier people move into separate plans, premiums can rise for people who need fuller coverage, including families with ongoing health needs

• It would move the health system further toward a pick-your-own-plan model that puts more risk and complexity on workers instead of employers. This is an inference from the bill’s design and the supporting/opposing materials

  
  

Supporters of the bill argued that it would give small businesses more flexibility and make it easier for workers to choose portable coverage that fits their needs. Opponents claimed it would undermine ACA protections, encourage market segmentation, and leave workers with less stable or less comprehensive coverage.

But for many in Southwest Virginia, the question is simple: why vote for a plan that could make health coverage more confusing and less secure in a region where access to care is already a struggle?

In Southwest Virginia, where many families already face long drives to care, hospital strain and high health costs, this vote could hit working families, older residents and people with chronic health needs, the hardest by making dependable coverage harder to keep and harder to compare.

Read the full bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3799

Read coverage on the bill here: https://aflcio.org/about/advocacy/legislative-alerts/letter-opposing-legislation-would-changes-health-care-harmful

Information by the Congressional Budget Office here: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-06/WM_June7_Markup_5.pdf

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